On the morning of June 4, 2019, 28-year-old Ronald 'Trey' Peters was walking from his home in Stone Mountain, Georgia, to a nearby MARTA station on his way to work as a case manager. His journey was tragically cut short when a maroon truck approached him on Orchard Circle. Two men, wearing masks, exited the vehicle and demanded his backpack. Witnesses reported hearing the assailants use an anti-gay slur during the confrontation.
When Peters refused to surrender his bag, he was shot in the chest and neck. After he fell to the ground, one of the attackers grabbed his bag and shot him again before fleeing the scene in the truck, which was driven by a third person. A neighbor who witnessed the event called 911 and rushed to Peters' aid, but his injuries were too severe. He was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The DeKalb County Police Department initially investigated the murder of Ronald Peters as a hate-motivated crime due to the homophobic slurs used by his attackers. This aspect of the case drew significant attention from the LGBTQ community, especially as the incident occurred at the beginning of Pride Month. Investigators released surveillance photos of three persons of interest and the maroon four-door truck used in the crime. The truck was later found to have been reported stolen in a carjacking in Clayton County the day before the murder. A critical breakthrough in the case came when detectives tracked the use of Peters' debit card to a gas station in Lithonia shortly after the shooting. Surveillance footage from the gas station and a nearby Walmart captured images of the suspects.
Within a few months of the murder, authorities made three arrests in connection with the death of Ronald Peters. The suspects were identified as Joshua Cortez Ellis, Shaleeya Moore, and Tyreese Johnson. Johnson was alleged to have been the gunman who shot Peters. Moore later testified that she drove the truck away from the scene and that both Ellis and Johnson exited the vehicle with guns and masks to confront Peters. Johnson reportedly told investigators that their intention was only to rob Peters, but that Ellis shot him.
In September 2023, Joshua Cortez Ellis was convicted of malice murder, felony murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault, and firearm possession charges. The DeKalb County District Attorney's office stated that while the incident was initially investigated as a hate crime, the investigation ultimately revealed it to be a 'crime of opportunity.' In November 2023, a DeKalb County Superior Court judge sentenced Ellis to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus an additional five years. The cases against Shaleeya Moore and Tyreese Johnson are still pending.
